Cook the Cover

Each month we ask you to Cook the Cover. Send your pictures and reviews to askba@bonappetit.com. We'll share them in a Cook the Cover Facebook album, and feature our favorites here on The Feed.

Ask any sensible chicken how she or he would prefer to be fried, and you'd get one answer: in a cast iron skillet. Yes, our feathered friends should only consent to a dunk in the deep fryer, the pressure cooker or the dutch oven as a last resort. Because there's no need for frills or fancy equipment when no method can match up to the Southern tradition of skillet-frying for an evenly browned, crunchy crust and succulent interior meat.

So before you cook up a Flying Drumstick of your own to rival our February cover, pull out your skillet and give it a salt scrub-down. No worries if you're not a frying pro; we'll walk you through it step by step. We've got a feeling you won't need any help polishing off the finished product--just don't forget to snap a glamour shot first and send it to us for a chance to be featured here.